World Series stopping at new venue

Michelle Swafford

Thursday, June 2, 2005 | 11:13 a.m.

Poker's biggest annual get-together is back in Las Vegas, but there's a lot new at the 36th annual World Series of Poker.

There's a new spot for most of the competition, just off-Strip at the Rio, instead of its traditional venue at Binion's.

Instead of beginning in April and ending in May, new owner Harrah's Entertainment moved the World Series to June and July, hotter months less popular with tourists.

Today, dealers at the Rio will deal the first hands of the 45-event competition that culminates with a championship tournament expected to pay its winner more than the $5 million last year's champion won, with nine competitors making $1 million or more.

Harrah's says this year's events feature many other changes including the addition of a consumer product show, more players, events and larger purse.

At noon today casino employees can participate in a no-limit hold 'em tournament for a $500 buy-in, which is the least expensive buy-in of the poker event that runs through July 15. The first tournament will be preceded by Penn and Teller doing a giant card trick using 4-foot by 8-foot playing cards shuffled by forklifts.

All but the last two days of this year's World Series will take place in the Rio convention area. The final two days will be at Binion's, formerly Binion's Horseshoe.

"We said we would take it back to the place it all began for the final two days of the event," World Series of Poker Director Gary Thompson said.

Harrah's purchased the World Series of Poker and the Horseshoe brands last year from Becky Binion Behnen and assumed the Horseshoe's debt. Harrah's managed Binion's Horseshoe until March when its new owner, MTR Gaming, took over and dropped the Horseshoe name, which Harrah's kept.

The World Series was moved to Harrah's Rio this year to accommodate 200 tables and nine additional events, Thompson said.

The convention center can accommodate 6,600 players and about 4,000 are expected for the championship event this year, he said. Last year, there were 2,576 players in the main event and two years ago there were 839, he said.

"This year because of anticipated demand we started the opening over three days," he said.

The championship tournament is a no-limit hold 'em game with a $10,000 buy-in.

This year's total prize pool is expected to reach a record $75 million, topping last year's record of nearly $46 million.

"We expect every player at the final table will walk away a millionaire," Thompson said.

Players can register for an event the same day but Harrah's is closing registrations once capacity is reached, which is about 2,200 for each day of the first round of the championship tournament, he said.

All tournament events are open to the public at no charge although there is not much space for spectators, Thompson said. For more information on the events, visit www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

In conjunction with the World Series events, a July 6 to 9 consumer show will feature poker products, including chips, cards, apparel and game booths from more than 80 vendors, Thompson said.

This year's World Series events will be aired on ESPN beginning in July with coverage of circuit tournaments already held at other Harrah's properties. Other World Series events will air this fall including 11 hours of the final event.

"They've really expanded coverage quite substantially," Thompson said, adding that viewership for the World Series is three times higher than other poker tours.

"It's ranked third behind NFL and NASCAR," he said. "It's bigger than pro basketball, bigger than college football."

Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor and a gambling expert, said the changes Harrah's made to the World Series of Poker are good for the event and Las Vegas.

"It's going to be the biggest show ever in poker," he said. Poker is so hot. It's such a big deal. It's so mainstream. For Las Vegas to be hosting the biggest deal is a good thing."

He said moving the World Series from downtown to just off the Strip is "a progression that had to be."

"They wouldn't have been able to handle it downtown," Curtis said. "They would have had to harness all of downtown. It bursted out of the Binion's. It needed a place with a gigantic area. The Rio is perfect for it."

The main potential drawback to moving locations is operational changes.

"They've got a new tournament management team," he said. "You've got a new host and a new group running the show. There's probably going to be kinks to work out."

Many of the people involved with running this year's World Series have run other poker tournaments, he added.

The other challenge is that championship event seats could fill up quickly because many of the online gambling sites are sending players to the tournament -- some by subsidizing the $10,000 buy-in, Curtis said.

Online gambling picked up two years ago when Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker championship in 2003 after winning an online poker tournament, he said.